野狼社区 University | 2024-25 Season

野狼社区

Skip to content

2024-25 Season

Fall 2024

Footloose

Sept. 27-29

FOOTLOOSE (1998)

Mainstage Musical: Kirkpatrick Auditorium - 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27-28 & 2 p.m. Sept. 29, 2024

SYNOPSIS: The Oscar-nominated score from this 鈥80s favorite springs to life in a coming-of-age musical celebrating love, rebellion, and the power of forgiveness.

INSPIRATION: Stage adaptation of the hit 1984 movie, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year

OF NOTE: Story inspired by a ban on dancing in Elmore City, Oklahoma

CRITICAL ACCLAIM:&苍产蝉辫;鈥淔ootloose is all about fun and the carefree nature of being a teen, which of course is never fully appreciated at the time鈥t should do well, cornering not only the teenage market, but all those who remember the eighties with fondness too." 鈥 British Theatre Guide

Director: David Herendeen

Music Director: Matthew Mailman

Stage Adaptation: 

Music: Tom Snow

Lyrics: 

Additional Music: Eric Carmen, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins, 

The Drowsy Chaperone

Oct. 4-6

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (1998)

Spotlight Opera: Burg Theatre - 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4-5 & 2 p.m. Oct. 6, 2024

SYNOPSIS: When a devoted Broadway fan plays his favorite cast album 鈥 from the fictional show The Drowsy Chaperone 鈥 characters come to life in a hilarious musical farce.

INSPIRATION: A comic spoof of old musicals created by a group of friends for a Canadian stag party.

OF NOTE: Winner of five Tony Awards in 2006, including Best Book and Best Original Score

CRITICAL ACCLAIM:&苍产蝉辫;鈥淭he perfect Broadway musical.鈥 鈥 New York Magazine

Director: Karen Coe Miller

Music Director: Chuck Koslowske

Music and Lyrics: Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison

Book: Bob Martin and Don McKellar

The Ballad of Baby Doe

Nov. 15-17

THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE (1956)

Mainstage Opera: Kirkpatrick Auditorium - 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15-16 & 2 p.m. Nov. 17, 2024

SYNOPSIS: An American rags-to-riches love story inspired by a real 19th-century Colorado miner, the opera explores universal truths about love and loss.

INSPIRATION: The rise and fall of 鈥淪ilver King鈥 Horace Tabor and his wives

OF NOTE: The opera was commissioned and premiered by Central City Opera, and debuted at New York City Opera in 1958, starring Beverly Sills in the title role.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM:&苍产蝉辫;鈥The main pleasure for this listener Sunday night came from Douglas Moore's score鈥t is fluent, easy, inventive." 鈥 The New York Times

Director: David Herendeen

Music Director: Jan McDaniel

Music: Douglas Moore

Librettist: John Latouche

Spring 2025

Head Over Heels

Feb. 14-16

HEAD OVER HEELS (2015)

Spotlight Opera: Burg Theatre - 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14-15 & 2 p.m. Feb. 16, 2025

SYNOPSIS: A bold musical comedy from the team that rocked Broadway with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening, set to the music of the iconic 1980s rock band The Go-Go鈥檚. A royal family embarks on a quest to save their kingdom from extinction 鈥 only to discover the key to their realm鈥檚 survival lies within.

INSPIRATION: Music of the 1980s 鈥済irl group鈥 The Go-Go鈥檚

OF NOTE: A debut at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival preceded the show鈥檚 2018 Broadway premiere

CRITICAL ACCLAIM: "Forty years after The Go-Go鈥檚 formation, Head Over Heels does more than preserve the band鈥檚 iconic hits in amber. For two hours and 15 minutes, it鈥檚 enough to pull the world back into sync." 鈥 Entertainment Weekly

Director: Karen Coe Miller

Music Director: Chuck Koslowske

Music and Lyrics: The Go-Go鈥檚

Book: Jeff Whitty, adapted by James Magruder

Strawberry Fields/Gianni Schicci

Feb. 21-23

Mainstage Opera Twin Bill: Kirkpatrick Auditorium - 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21-22 & 2 p.m. Feb. 23, 2025

STRAWBERRY FIELDS (1999)

SYNOPSIS: An elderly woman in New York鈥檚 Central Park imagines the scenes unfolding around her are part of an elaborate opera she is reluctant to leave.

INSPIRATION: The garden-within-a-garden dedicated to John Lennon

OF NOTE: This one-act opera was commissioned by Glimmerglass, NYC Opera and WNET鈥檚 Great Performances Series.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM: 鈥淚t is a moving work鈥ears in the audience flowed nearly as plentiful as on a good Madame Butterfly night." 鈥 New York Newsday

Music: Michael Torke

Libretto: A.R. Gurney

GIANNI SCHICCHI (1918)

SYNOPSIS: Scheming relatives plot to falsify a wealthy man鈥檚 will in Puccini鈥檚 comedy classic.

INSPIRATION: An incident from Dante鈥檚 Divine Comedy

OF NOTE: Lauretta鈥檚 aria  has become one of opera鈥檚 most popular.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM: 鈥淥ne of the world鈥檚 best jokes immortalized in a masterpiece of a score.鈥 鈥 Gramophone

Music: Giacomo Puccini

Libretto: Giovacchino Forzano 

Director: TBA

Music Director: Jan McDaniel

Anything Goes

April 11-13

ANYTHING GOES (1934; 2022 revision)

Mainstage Musical: Kirkpatrick Auditorium - 7:30 p.m. April 11-12 & 2 p.m. April 13, 2025

SYNOPSIS: A Cole Porter classic, this musical comedy voyage of the S.S. American is packed with witty, madcap passengers who dance and sing 鈥 including Anything Goes, You're the Top, It鈥檚 Delovely and I Get a Kick Out of You 鈥 while romantic complications ensue.

INSPIRATION: 1936 film starring Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman

OF NOTE: The 1987 and 2011 Broadway revivals won a total of six Tony Awards.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM: 鈥淭he genius of Anything Goes lies in the combination of seriously good music with a plot so gloriously inconsequential that a state of blithe, uncomplicated bliss is reached.鈥 鈥 The Guardian

Director: David Herendeen

Music Director: Matthew Mailman

Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter

Book: Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse

KEEP UP WITH US!

Wanda L. Bass School of Music
Back to Top